Paging all book lovers: Independent Bookstore Day is Saturday, and three Lancaster County bookstores, as well as a popular Harrisburg location, are participating. Events include giveaways, blind dates with books, bookmark contests, special author events and even entirely new stores.
“We think independent bookstores are so important to communities,” says Alexis Colon, an employee at Aaron’s Books. “We like to create a community space and get people excited about reading and get books in their hands. It’s about that excitement and joy of reading.”
Independent Bookstore Day is a national event. For a full list of participating stores around the country, visit lanc.news/IndieBookstores.
AARON’S BOOKS
Where: 35 E. Main St. Lititz.
Contact info: 717-627-1990; aaronsbooks.com.
Independent Bookstore Day hours: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Details: The store will open an hour earlier than usual at 9 a.m. and will serve doughnuts and juice. Limited exclusive independent bookstore items will be available for sale, and some will be included with purchases. Customers who purchase $50 or more will have a choice of two Aaron’s Books items, including a travel mug and a tote bag; when customers return to Aaron’s with said tote bag, they’ll get 5% off their purchase.
The store also will hold a bookmark design contest for kids ages 5-12. The contest is free to enter. A coloring table will be set up in the store for kids to create their own bookmark designs on site; when kids submit their bookmarks to the contest, they’ll receive a small prize. Aaron’s Books will upload submissions to its Instagram and Facebook accounts in May for followers to vote on their three favorite designs. Winning designs will be reproduced as Aaron’s Books bookmarks and given away with purchases in the summer.
B.R. BOOKS
Where: 1933 Fruitville Pike, Lancaster (in Foxshire Plaza).
Contact info: 717-581-5887; brbookslancaster.com.
Independent Bookstore Day hours: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Details: B.R. Books will host a book signing event with local author Mary Cantell. A limited number of Cantell’s new inspirational novel “Hope Another Way,” which officially comes out in June, will be available during the event. Cantell will sign copies of her book from 10 a.m. to noon.
The bookstore also will highlight other books by local authors on a special table during Independent Bookstore Day. Select hardcover books are on sale for $1 during the day. The store will have exclusive Independent Bookstore Day merchandise available for purchase as well as some free giveaway items.
Midtown Scholar Bookstore in Harrisburg features a “blind date with a book” event as part of Independent Bookstore Day on April 30.
MIDTOWN SCHOLAR BOOKSTORE AND CAFE
Where: 1302 N. Third St., Harrisburg.
Contact info: 717-236-1680; midtownscholar.com.
Independent Bookstore Day hours: 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Details: The Midtown Scholar will celebrate Independent Bookstore Day by offering customers exclusive merchandise and sales, including a Blind Date with a Book event. Random used books will be wrapped in brown paper, and staff will mark them with clues, in the form of keywords and pictures, as to what each book is about. Blind Date books are $6 and $8.
The store also is holding a massive five-day outdoor tent sale featuring more than 10,000 titles with books priced between $1 and $3. The sale started Wednesday and continues through Sunday across from the store at the corner of Third and Verbeke streets. More information and hours on the sale can be found on the Midtown Scholar Bookstore Facebook page.
POCKET BOOKS
Where: 903 Wheatland Ave., Lancaster.
Contact info: 717-517-7990; pocketbooksshop.com.
Independent Bookstore Day hours: 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Details: Pocket Books will celebrate Independent Bookstore Day in a big way: by opening up an entire bookstore. The bookstore will mark Independent Bookstore Day with its soft opening Saturday. Co-owners Austin Carter, Jessica Callahan and Julie Ross will unveil their store and offer treats during the day. A grand opening event will most likely take place in June, Carter says.
Julie Ross, Jessica Callahan and Austin Carter, co-owners of Pocket Books, 903 Wheatland Avenue, sort through boxes of new books that will be placed on shelves before their store opens this Saturday on Tuesday, April 26, 2022.
“We really want to be a boon to the community,” Carter says. “We’re not just an alternative to buying your books on some big website. We’re hoping to do more.”
The store features a wide array of genres from baby books and romance to horror and true crime.
